


The Calm Amidst the Storm

by EDEBIBED_91



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Goodbyes, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Ninja, Shinobi, Uchiha Massacre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 20:03:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20431670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EDEBIBED_91/pseuds/EDEBIBED_91
Summary: Mochika awakes with a horrible feeling, unsure of its origins. Unable to sleep she wanders outside Konoha, encountering Itachi Uchiha, her best friend, just after the Uchiha Massacre. She has no idea what's happened and comforts her friend before he leaves for good.





	The Calm Amidst the Storm

In the dead silence of night Mochika sat bolt upright. Breathing heavily, as if having done hours of stamina training, she cast her brown eyes over her surroundings. Everything was as she left it a few hours earlier when she went to sleep; curtains drawn, lights off, vest and katana hanging on their hooks attached to the inside of her door. Her closet was still slightly open, desk against the wall with texts and scrolls scattered across its surface undisturbed. The curtains swayed gently from the evening breeze blowing through the open window behind them.

Mochika laid back down with a heavy sigh, combing her slender fingers through the end of her long, black braid. Drying sweat cooled her skin, goosebumps rising and prickling the pale flesh. She could have sworn something was wrong, a feeling of dread and terror being the cause of her sudden waking. It was unusual for her senses to fail her, having been training to become a member of Konoha's infiltration and interrogation team for nearly five years now, but she could find nothing off in her immediate vicinity. It was possible the feeling had been nothing more than a bad dream, she rationalized, but it was also rare for her to experience such things as well. Screwing her eyes shut she tried to calm the slight trembling of her body and fall back to sleep. 

After a half hour passed with no promise of continued slumber Mochika huffed and sat back up. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and slid on her sandals, kept ready at the edge of her bed in case of emergency. Moving quietly, she opened her door and tip-toed down the hall to the front door, careful not to wake her slumbering parents. Once outside she relaxed, shaking out her limbs and stretching before heading off toward the village gates.

The night was uncommonly chilly for the time of year. A harsh breeze caused her braid to blow over her shoulder. She gripped her upper arms, rubbing them in an attempt to keep relatively warm, the thin cotton of her pajamas doing nothing to shield her from the wind. As she walked, Mochika thought back to the feeling that had awoken her. It still hung around the edges of her mind and soul, making her feel a growing sense of unease. Where was it coming from? 

She exited the village unseen and headed into the forest, her destination a small cave hidden a few miles outside the perimeter. Thinking back to the day she'd found it brought a small smile to her lips. It was almost seven years ago on a random excursion. She had always been a somewhat adventurous child, and often ran off on her own. It was on one of those occasions that she'd found the small alcove in the undergrowth of the forest, secluded from everything in its own quaint clearing. This became her new sanctuary, a place to practice her jutsu and begin honing her sensing skills.

Jumping up into the trees, Mochika sprinted the short distance to her hidden abode. Back on the ground she fell to all fours and crawled under a particularly large grouping of bushes and trees, emerging on the other side in that familiar clearing. In seven years it hadn't changed. Everything seemed to pause when she was there, like she was in a different world unaffected by her normal life. She walked to the mouth of the small cave and ran her hand against the cool rock lovingly. It was odd, but the formation was like an old friend.

Smiling faintly, Mochika entered the cave. Inside was nothing special, just damp stone walls and a dirt floor. It didn't extend that far back, just enough to be out of eyesight in shadows. Mochika sat against the back wall and closed her eyes to revel in the calm silence. A few moments later she reached out with her chakra, a normal practice when she came to the cave, and felt a familiar tickle on the edge of her consciousness, the indicator of another chakra signature nearby.

Mochika smiled at the feeling of the familiar chakra approaching. It was late, and she briefly wondered what he was doing here, but put the thought behind her. She stood and skipped over to the mouth of the cave just as he appeared.

"Konichiwa, Itachi-san!"

Mochika threw her arms around the slender Anbu member, grateful for his comforting company. Her face pressed against his standard grey vest and she hummed happily. She inhaled deeply, taking in his naturally woody scent and... was that blood? Had he been on a mission? It was when he didn't embrace her back that she pulled back, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

Itachi gently pulled himself from her loosened embrace. His features were characteristically blank and stoic, but she noticed a faint shimmer to his cheeks, the onyx of his eyes glistening more than usual. Was he... crying? He kept silent, ignoring her question and stepping deeper into the cave. Mochika watched after him, following in his wake not long after. She maintained the silence while Itachi slumped against the cold rock wall, sliding down until he was sitting, arms resting atop his bent knees. Joining him on the ground she asked her question again.

"What's wrong, Itachi?"

It was another minute before Itachi finally spoke. He faced away from Mochika, but the silence of the cave made his deep voice clear to her ears.

"I'm leaving Konoha," Itachi said. There was little emotion in his confession, said more like just a statement of a fact. Immediately Mochika felt a harsh tugging at her heart, the feeling of dread and terror that began her night seeping back in. Quick flashes of years past flitted through her mind. He was the only other person who'd come across this cave in all the time she'd been coming here. At first she'd despised the young Uchiha- he invaded her private hiding spot- but after a while he began to help her training. He was by far the smartest boy she'd ever met, his shinobi skills unmatched even for a ten year old. Over the years she became a close friend to the young prodigy, enough so that he eventually confided in her about his dream and ultimate goal to become so strong that he could end fighting for good. Mochika admired his resolve, no matter how futile she believed it to be. It was his bravery and determination that spurred her own conviction to join the village's intelligence unit one day.

"Wha-" Mochika stopped and cleared her throat, a large lump having formed there. "What do you mean you're leaving?"

Once again Itachi ignored her words, but he did turn his face toward her. Her earlier suspicion that he'd been crying was confirmed, new tears silently creeping down his beautiful face. The sight tore at her heart; she'd never seen him cry. Tears of her own pricked at her eyes and the lump in her throat grew uncomfortable. She did not want to cry, shinobi did not cry, but her best friend was in clear pain, and it hurt.

"Itachi-san..."

"I can't tell you why," Itachi said before she could form any questions. 

Mochika felt wetness against her cheeks, her tears falling despite her best efforts. Her lower lip trembled as she took a shaky breath.

"I was awoken by a feeling of dreadful unease," she confessed. Her voice was shaking as she forced the words out. "Does it have something to do with you... with this?" She couldn't bring herself to say he was leaving.

"You'll know in the morning," Itachi replied. He turned his gaze back to the darkness of the cave. "Everyone will know..."

That was all he was going to say, she could feel it. It wasn't the first time Itachi had kept something from her, he was Anbu after all, but this secret felt heavy, darker. She didn't press, however. He had his reasons for not telling her, and she respected that. Instead she shifted closer to his warm form, leaning her head against his shoulder as she had done many times before after long days of training. She felt him turn his head back to look at her before his head rested atop her own. If comfort was all she could offer him, she would.

Time passed slowly in the silence of the cave, neither shinobi speaking. The only sound came from the forest outside, wind blowing through the trees, animals going about their lives. Moonlight cast long shadows against the ground at the mouth of the cave, the only indicator of time passing. It wasn't long before Mochika began to feel her eyelids growing heavy, Itachi's presence comforting her enough for sleep to finally come.

* * *

"It's time for me to go," Itachi whispered. He stood up, Mochika scrambling to stand with him as she attempted to fully wake up, unaware of how much time had passed. She immediately missed the warmth of his body next to hers, shivering in its absence. Before he could move away she grabbed his arm.

"I'll go with you," Mochika said. There was no way she could let him leave. She looked up at him with wet eyes, but was met with an empty gaze.

"I have to go. Alone," Itachi said. "My path has been chosen, and I must take it. You have to stay and protect Konoha."

They walked to the mouth of the cave, Mochika never averting her gaze from the man beside her. She noticed his eyes seemed tired, older than his thirteen years somehow. When had that happened? When had she stopped thinking of him as a boy? She watched as he tilted his face up to the sky, studying the soft lines of his features, the way his long hair fell gracefully behind him. The moonlight cast heavy shadows over his face, accentuated by the lines that ran from his eyes down his cheeks. She recalled a time in the past when he'd told her how Shimura Danzo had approached him after his graduation and told him that the lines indicated chaos, that bad news and bad luck would follow him in life. Mochika had thought nothing of this prediction, Danzo had always scared her and so she disregarded what he said. But maybe there was truth to that particular belief. Perhaps this was part of the chaos he talked of. If this was the last time she would see Itachi, she wanted to memorize everything she could. It was then she realized that she loved him, and she felt her heart break.

"If we ever meet again, it will be as enemies."

Itachi looked back down to Mochika. The sadness and genuine remorse she saw in his face caused her breaking heart to shatter, and she broke down into sobs. She wrapped her arms around him and muffled her cries in his chest. His own arms wound around her in a warm embrace, squeezing before letting go far too soon. He gently pushed her away, just as he had earlier. The action was finalizing, their friendship over, the Itachi she knew gone.

Mochika reluctantly stepped back, signaling Itachi to leave. She watched his back as he walked toward the forest. With a shaky breath she sent him one final confession. 

"I love you, Itachi-kun."

For the briefest moment he froze and she swore she saw his shoulders shudder with a small cry. It was gone the next instant, however, as Itachi resumed his gait without glancing back. When he was out of sight, swallowed by the shadows, she retreated back into the cave. She fell to her knees then laid on the ground, letting her sobs resume, her tears mixing with the dirt beneath her. 

Hours passed and soon the dark sky lightened as morning dawned. Leaving the cave she decided never to return again. This was her and Itachi's place, and without him it felt empty. Mochika slowly returned to the village, meeting chaos upon entering the gates. People whispered and ran about in a panic, shinobi trying to calm the civilians. Flagging down a jonin, Mochika asked what was happening. The feelings that began her long night overcame her at the man's words.

They were dead, all dead. The entire Uchiha clan had been massacred.


End file.
